Crypto Exchange Fees Explained: Maker, Taker and Spread

Crypto exchange fees explained: how maker fees, taker fees and the bid-ask spread add up, with a worked round trip and a simple rule for paying less.

How does an exchange order book work?

A centralized exchange matches buyers and sellers through an order book. Buy orders, called bids, wait below the current price; sell orders, called asks, wait above it. The highest bid and the lowest ask define the market at any moment, and the gap between them is the spread.

Suppose Coin A shows a best bid of $79.92 and a best ask of $80.08. The spread is $0.16, and the mid price, halfway between the two, is $80.00. A market order to buy fills at or near the ask, and a market order to sell fills at or near the bid, so anyone who trades immediately gives up part of that gap each time.

What are maker and taker fees?

The fee you pay depends on how your order executes, not on whether you are buying or selling. A maker posts an order that does not execute right away, so it rests on the book and adds liquidity for others. A taker sends an order that executes immediately against those resting orders and removes liquidity.

This maker-taker model exists in traditional markets too. A U.S. SEC staff memo describes stock exchanges that charge takers a fee and pay makers a rebate to encourage resting orders, while a few venues invert the model. Crypto exchanges with an order book generally apply the same idea, listing separate maker and taker rates in a published fee schedule that can vary with your trading volume, so check it for the rates that apply to you.

Why does the spread matter as much as the fee?

The spread is a cost even on a platform that advertises low or zero fees. Crossing it on the way in and again on the way out costs the full spread on every round trip. To express it as a percentage:

Spread % = (Ask − Bid) ÷ Mid price × 100

For Coin A that is 0.16 ÷ 80.00 × 100 = 0.20%. Simplified buy screens can hide a wider gap, because the price they quote may include a markup over the market, as covered in the spread many apps don’t show you. Quotes also apply only to a limited size, so a large order can fill at several prices and receive a worse average than the one on screen.

Worked example: one $4,000 round trip, three ways

You buy 50 units of Coin A and later sell them at an unchanged $80.00 mid price, so every dollar lost is a cost rather than a market move. The rates are hypothetical: maker 0.25%, taker 0.50%, and an instant-buy screen that charges a 1% fee on a price marked up 0.75% from the mid.

The taker line shows how fee and spread stack. Each side costs the 0.50% fee plus half the 0.20% spread, 0.60% in total, so the round trip costs 1.20%. The instant route costs 1% plus 0.75% per side, or 3.50% in all, which is seven times the maker route.

Costs also move your target. After the taker purchase at $4,024.02, the best bid has to reach about $80.88, 1.11% above the starting mid, before a taker sale gets your money back. Our guide to the break-even price after fees shows the general formula.

How much does the difference add up to over a year?

Small percentages compound into real money when you trade on a schedule. Suppose you buy $500 of Coin A every week for a year, $26,000 in total, at the same hypothetical rates and spread as above.

The $91 gap comes entirely from how the orders execute, not from what or when you buy. The maker figure assumes every order fills at the mid price, which will not always happen, so treat the $91 as a best case: any order that has to be sent as a taker narrows the gap.

Watch which asset the fee is taken from

Some platforms deduct the fee from the coin you receive rather than from your cash. If a 0.50% taker fee comes out of the coins, an order for 50 units delivers 49.75 units. The dollar cost is the same, but your quantity and average cost change, so record the net amount when you calculate profit and loss including fees.

Checklist for paying less on exchange trades

• Know your rates. Find the published fee schedule and note your maker and taker percentages.
• Measure the spread. Compare any quote with the order book’s mid price at the same moment.
• Decide whether speed is worth it. A limit order that rests on the book usually pays the maker rate and avoids crossing the spread, but it may not fill. A post-only option, where offered, cancels the order rather than letting it take.
• Check depth before large orders. A big market order can eat through several price levels.
• Count every side. Include the buy fee, sell fee, spread both ways, and any deposit or withdrawal fees on top of network fees.
• Remember on-chain costs. Moving coins off the exchange also pays network fees such as Ethereum gas.

To line up several platforms or payment methods side by side, use the calculator below or follow our method for comparing crypto fees fairly.

The bottom line

Exchange costs come in three layers: the maker or taker fee, the spread you cross when you trade immediately, and any markup built into a quoted price. Compare them as round trips at the same moment, and decide deliberately whether filling right away is worth the extra cost.

This content is for education only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose money. Examples use hypothetical numbers. See our disclaimer and editorial policy.